Obituaries

Beastie Boys co-founder Adam Yauch, 47, dies of cancer

Adam Yauch and a high school friend conceived the Beastie Boys as a punk group,but it became a hip-hop trio. (Getty Images file)

NEW YORK — Adam Yauch, the gravelly voiced Beastie Boys rapper and the most conscientious member of the seminal hip-hop group, has died. He was 47.

Yauch's representatives confirmed that the rapper died Friday morning in New York after a nearly three-year battle with cancer.

Also known as MCA, Yauch was diagnosed with a cancerous salivary gland in 2009. At the time, Yauch expressed hope that it was "very treatable," but his illness caused the group to cancel shows and delayed the release of their 2011 album, "Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 2."

He hadn't performed in public since 2009 and was absent when the Beastie Boys were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last month.

Photos: Adam Yauch

"Adam Yauch was a pioneer who broke ground with his music and introduced hip-hop to a wider audience," said Terry Stewart, president of the hall of fame.

The Brooklyn-born Yauch created the Beastie Boys with high school friend Michael "Mike D" Diamond. Originally conceived as a hardcore punk group, it became a hip-hop trio soon after Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz joined. They released their chart-topping debut "Licensed to Ill" in 1986, a raucous album led by the anthem "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)".

In the seven studio albums that followed, the Beastie Boys expanded considerably and grew more musically ambitious. Their followup, 1989's "Paul's Boutique," ended any suggestion that the group was a one-hit wonder.

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Introducing the group at the Rock Hall, Public Enemy rapper Chuck D said the Beastie Boys "broke the mold."

"The Beastie Boys are, indeed, three bad brothers who made history," Chuck D said. "They brought a whole new look to rap and hip-hop. They proved that rap could come from any street — not just a few."

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